


Christmas Miracles

by maderi



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: And maybe the shower scene lol, First Kiss, Gabriel vs. Bloomington. Indiana in Winter, Idiots in Love, Jack's Father is Incredible, Love Confessions, M/M, Marked Mature for Mention of Erection, Romantic Fluff, Snowball Fight, in a way..., oblivious idiots in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 17:07:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28603440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maderi/pseuds/maderi
Summary: When Gabriel screws up Jack's holiday plans, Jack makes him pay in the worst way possible. Even if his body may survive the freezing cold of Bloomington, Indiana, Gabriel isn't so sure that his heart will survive a week as Jack's pretend boyfriend.
Relationships: Reaper | Gabriel Reyes/Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison
Comments: 3
Kudos: 65
Collections: Reaper76 Free For All Secret Santa 2020





	Christmas Miracles

**Author's Note:**

  * For [badlifechoices](https://archiveofourown.org/users/badlifechoices/gifts).



> This was my emergency pinch-hit in the Reaper76 Free For All Secret Santa Event 2020 for the perfectly incredible BadLifeChoices! I really do hope that this little silly story will hit some of the boxes you were hoping for. Additionally, I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's celebration with lots and lots of love and laughter!

Christmas... Jack loved the holding but absolutely hated what followed with it. Their family wasn’t exactly what he would call small. There were his mother and father, his two older siblings, two pairs of aunts and uncles with five kids between them, some of them with kids of their own now too. The problem was that all of them insisted on meeting up to celebrate Christmas together, something their house wasn’t really built for. 

Sure, they always managed to fit everyone in somewhere, but it got even tighter when the cousins started bringing their chosen ones along with them for a genuine farm Christmas celebration. And when Jack’s sister and brother would be bringing their wives and this year... two newborns, the poor farmhouse would be filled to the point of bursting. 

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Jack would have to live through a full week of “So John, found anyone new yet?” with the glorious reply that his brother would shout from the other end of the house, butting into the conversations like a cartoon character, “He’s too bland and boring to catch anyone’s eye,”. The past two years, the newfound Overwatch had gratefully kept Jack from attending the Christmas celebrations at home, but this year, he wouldn’t be as lucky. 

Somehow, his mother had gotten word that Jack would be able to leave for a week during Christmas and New Year’s. Later, after the accusatory phone call his mother had made, berating him for not telling her, Jack was told that his kind and charming secretary had informed her of the changes this year. Seeing as Jack’s secretary was a middle-aged beast of a woman with a squeaky voice, the only one with access to his office sat across the room, plucking at his nails all innocently, pretending not to listen in on the conversation. Scowling over at Gabriel, Jack hung up the phone call he had deliberately avoided after his mother had told him goodbye, waiting a few seconds before turning his displeased storm blue eyes on Gabriel who, to his credit, looked exceedingly apologetic.

“I panicked?” Gabriel offers as an excuse, sounding more like a question than anything else. 

“You panicked,” Jack parrots as he crosses his arms over his chest while leaning back in his chair, waiting for Gabriel to start sweating. 

He’s not disappointed when seconds later, Gabriel’s face turns a shade darker, and his already sparkly puppy brown eyes turn their charm up to about a hundred as he smiles all boyishly at Jack. It doesn’t work the way Gabriel expected it to though, Jack way too used to the Reyes charm to be affected by it. 

“You know how mothers intimidate me, Jack. Especially yours! She reminds me of my grandmother,” Gabriel starts, grumbling that last part and making Jack snort at the sheer ridiculousness of the statement. “Besides, it won’t be that bad,”

“You’re right it won’t, because you’ll be coming with me and I will sit in the corner and watch as my family devours you,” Jack shoots back, not even registering the words before they’ve left his mouth. 

“W-what, as like - like your boyfriend or something?” Gabriel looks like one of the deers back home, caught in the headlights on dark back roads.

“Actually, that isn’t such a bad idea. Thanks for offering, Gabe,” Jack grins as he grabs the files he was working on before his mother called, “We’ll be leaving tomorrow then, so be ready. And Gabe... Pack something warm, alright,” 

Winking, Jack closes the door behind him, not giving Gabriel’s best impression of a fish above water any consideration as the door closed behind him. He never heard the helpless “Th-that wasn’t what I meant,” that Gabriel stutters to the empty room or the panicked swearing that followed shortly after.

*

Gabriel was so not made for this. Gabriel wasn’t meant for this! This was where Jack would bring his eventual significant other, a guy who slid seamlessly into his family, into this... - this frozen landscape of death. Giving a full-body shiver as a gust of icy cold wind with snow blew by, chilling his neck, even though he was clad in the thickest parkas the world could offer. 

“Stop it, it isn’t even that cold, Gabe,” Jack bumps his shoulder as he passes, grabbing his hand in the same motion, wrapping his long, bare fingers around Gabe’s thermal clad hand. 

Following Jack as if a lost puppy, Gabriel stares down at their hands. He’s dreamed of this for so long, for longer than he could remember if he was being honest. How he found himself in this situation was beyond him though. One moment he’s sitting reclined in Jack’s chair, feet firmly planted on Jack’s desk as he waits for him to finish the meeting he was stuck in, and the next, Jack’s mother is pulling information out of him as if she was a world-renown interrogator and Gabe a measly kid of five.

Somehow, he’d ended up with Jack’s stormy blue eyes piercing him to the couch after hanging up the phone with his mother, taking Gabe’s excuses as if they were offered as perfect suggestions instead of the dry humor they were meant as. If Jack and Gabriel were the last two people left on earth, Gabriel would still not be worthy of calling himself Jack’s boyfriend. 

This...- this make-pretend would never work in Gabriel’s favor, but he guessed he better just make the best of the two weeks that would follow. After all, the number of people that could call themselves Jack Morrison’s boyfriend was extremely limited. Sighing as he looked over the snow-clad airport, Gabriel lowered his head in defeat, giving in to the fact that this was real, this snow-filled dump on earth would be his home for the next two weeks. 

“Strike Commander, Sir,” A black-clad, sunglassed, suit and party shooed man greeted them at the end of the ridiculous red carpet that leads them from the private airplane stairs to the oversized SUV at the end. 

“How is he even alive?” Gabriel sneers, looking ‘Mr. Suit and shades’ up and down. 

“Shush,” Jack snickers, butting his elbow into Gabriel’s ribs before greeting the human popsicle before them. The man must be seconds from certain death... Hypothermia at least!

“My love,” Jack pulls on Gabriel’s arm, forcing him to move forward and into the passenger seat of the monster SUV, “All buckled up, sugarplum?” 

Gabriel is left nodding with huge eyes following Jack’s movements as he checks on the seatbelt. Jack’s hand cups Gabriel’s cheek, thumb caressing his cheek as he lowers his neck to look into Gabriel’s eyes. Had he been a stronger man, Gabriel would have raised an eyebrow in question, however, Gabriel was the weakest of men when it came to Jack. Closing his eyes, Gabriel rubbed his cheek into Jack’s hand. He could hear Jack’s sharp intake of breath before warm lips met his forehead. 

“I’ll crank the heat up, babe, you’ll be warm again in no time,” Jack says louder than necessary before stepping down, “Thank you for your help, Agent Clifford,”

Gabriel stares at the suit-clad man through the blacked-out windows, grateful for the fact that the man below can’t see through the darkness when he smiles at Jack’s little PDA performance. 

“That was perfect, Gabe. If you can do that for the next two weeks, this will be a cakewalk,” Jack chirps, seemingly very pleased by Gabriel’s little ‘performance’. 

For hours, Gabriel watches as fields and woods of pure white pass them by. True to his word though, the car that Jack chose for them had an excellent heating system. If he could, Gabriel would bring the heated, reclined seat with him for all of eternity. The way it wrapped around him as if a firm, warm hug, suited his too cold body perfectly. 

It was no lie, Gabriel was just not meant for the cold wasteland of Bloomington, Indiana. His thermal gear felt too cold, his boots like buckets of frozen water, and for that, Gabriel had been outside the plane for a mere two minutes. Hopefully, the Morrison’s would have a fire burning brightly somewhere Gabriel could curl up beneath layers of wool. 

“You alright there, Gabe? You’ve been awfully quiet the last...- two hours,” Jack prods, fingers plucking at the gearshift as he steered them through the darkness that was setting in, bathing the white landscape in a beautiful blue that reminded Gabriel of Jack. 

“Hmm?” Gabriel hummed back, not really registering anything outside of his own thoughts. 

“Are you ok?” Jack repeated, taking Gabriel’s hand in his and squeezing comfortingly. 

“Y-yeah, just fine,” Gabriel stutters, eyes zeroing in on where Jack’s fingers are intertwining with his own. 

“Yeah?” Jack questions, blue eyes looking at him for a split second before Jack turns them back on the road again. 

“Yeah, I’m good, Jack,” But is he really? The way Jack’s thumb is caressing his own thumb sends butterflies through his stomach and makes his heart leap in his chest.

“Alright...-” Jack doesn’t remove his fingers when they fall back into silence again, the two of them staying connected for another hour or so before the blackness of the landscape gets broken up with dots of light from farms. 

“You’ve met my parents and siblings before, but my aunts and uncles and cousins will be here too, just a heads up. It will be pretty cramped,” Jack offers as he turns the car into a long driveway off of the main road. 

“Can’t we just rent a room at a hotel or something?” Gabriel offers, not really getting what Jack is saying. 

“Would you?” Jack shoots back instead, forcing Gabriel to actually think after the past few hours of relaxation. 

“Would I what?” He parrots back, turning in his seat to look at Jack. 

“If we were visiting your family and I was your boyfriend, would you have rented us a hotel room?” Jack stops the car and turns to look back at Gabriel, his blue-blue eyes piercing him to the spot.

“I....” Gabriel halts the reply, losing himself in the deep depths. 

A second later, Jack’s door is torn up as squeals and a very blond bomb of hair dives into the driver’s side seat, ass hitting the wheel, giving off a loud honk as the blond mess of curls screams something at Jack as she, Gabriel presumes, hugs Jack. The blond explosion is soon lifted off of the steering wheel by a large set of arms, the small energy bomb grunting in dismay as she’s lifted out of the car. 

“You alright, man?” The dark-haired man holding the blonde ball of fury under his arm asks, nodding to Gabriel when he sees him, offering a small smile. “She’s been waiting by the window since Clifford called it in,”

“I bet,” Jack snorts as he steps outside, closing the door to leave Gabriel alone in the car. 

Jack’s tackled to the snow a second later, a heavy-looking blonde brute of a man sitting on top of him, laughing as he pushes snow into Jack’s face. Jack’s flailing, but not really fighting as he lets the man sit on top of him. Gabriel knows that if Jack wanted to break free, there was no normal hum on this earth that could hold him down. 

Gabriel watches as Jack is let up from the snow, the group of people laughing, the brute ruffling Jack’s hair as they all turn towards the car where Gabriel sits frozen, helpless but to stare at the people before the car. Grinning, Jack rounds the car and opens the passenger door, letting in the impossibly cold wind. 

“Come on, Gabe, you have to meet my siblings,” Jack smiles, and Gabriel thinks it is the happiest he has ever seen Jack before. 

Unbuckling his seatbelt, Gabriel waits for Jack to step down before moving to jump down from the SUV. Below him, Jack stands with open arms as if Gabriel is some kind of damsel in distress. Snorting at Jack’s offer to catch him, Gabriel waves him away as he jumps out, promptly slipping and landing on his ass in the icy snow. 

“Oh, shit,” Jack curses, bending down to help Gabriel up as his siblings snicker in the background. “Are you hurt?” Jack’s worried question mutes the poorly hidden chuckling from behind him. 

“Jack, I’m a super soldier, it takes a little bit more than an embarrassing fall to hurt me. But if you don’t get me out of this freezing cold soon, I swear to shit, I will die,” Gabriel bites out as he roughly pulls the hood of his parkas off to ruffle his snow-filled curls, pride more than hurt as his first impression forever would be ruined with Jack’s siblings. 

“Oh, fuck me,” The tallest one exclaims just as the blonde brute coughs. 

“Hi, I’m uh... I’m Gabriel...-” The lame introduction pains him as the two men just stand there, gaping at him, while his hand hangs in the air between them.

“Clint, Joseph, come on,” Jack sighs as he pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Men...” The small blonde snorts before taking Gabriel’s hand and shaking it excitedly. “I’m Josephine, it’s really such a pleasure to finally - officially - meet you,” She grins, the glint in her blue eyes almost dangerous as she scowls at Jack before smiling sweetly up at Gabriel. 

“Y-yeah, uh - Nice to meet you, man,” The tallest one finally says, taking Gabriel’s hand from Josephine. “I’m John, Jo, and Jose’s cousin,” 

“Clint, a name would be helpful for the poor man,” Josephine adds, poking her cousin in the side. 

“And the gaping fish over there is is my older brother Joseph. Another big fan of yours if that was somehow unclear,” Jack snorts as he introduces his brother from over Gabriel’s shoulder. “Now, let’s get you inside before you die,”

Gabriel had never heard more beautiful word in his life. With a hand on Gabriel’s lower back, Jack leads them to the house and inside where the walls are buzzing with chatter from deeper inside the house. Jack’s father comes to greet them, the older man smiling warmly as he sees Gabriel. 

“Gabriel, what a pleasant surprise,” John greets, taking Gabriel’s hand in his and shaking it firmly. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you again, Mr. Morrison,” Gabriel smiles, genuinely happy to see the older version of Jack. 

“Nonsense, you call me John, son. We’ve been through this before,” John claps a hand over Gabriel’s shoulder and steers him out of the entrance and away from the open door. 

“Yes, Sir,” Obeadiantly, Gabriel follows John when he’s gently steered deeper into the house, towards the source of all the noise.  
“Dear, did you get John inside?” Gabriel can hear Jack’s mother, Joycelyn, call from beyond the open door before them. 

“I sure did, honey, and he brought a surprise this year,” John replies with laughter in his voice, as if the two of them had some kind of secret no one else knew about. 

“Gabriel,” Joycelyn exclaims, much in the same way her daughter did when she saw Jack. 

“Mrs. Morrison, it’s a pleasure to see you again,” Gabriel repeats, smiling gently as the small woman gets up from her chair to greet him with a good hug. 

“Oh, stop that,” She bats at him before pulling him in for the hug. 

“Forgive me, Joy,” Gabriel laughs, gently hugging back as the little woman chuckles. 

“What brings you along, Gabriel,” John asks his big hand, so much like Jack’s own, placed on Gabriel’s shoulder again, squeezing comfortingly. 

“Ah... uh actually, - “ Gabriel starts, but Jack’s voice interrupts him. 

“Dad, lay off for a second, alright,” Jack grunts, passing his father to give his mother a hug. 

“It’s all the same, you’re always welcome here, Gabriel,” John chuckles as he turns Gabriel toward the sea of other people in the modest living room. 

The next half hour passes by so fast Gabriel doesn’t really remember much of it. He’s sitting thigh to thigh on a love seat with Jack, Jack’s incredible heat lulling him into sleep. Gabriel is tired and comfortably warm. In the safety of Jack’s closeness, Gabriel nods off, the last thing he remembers is his head on Jack’s shoulder, Jack’s warm hand wrapping around his own, fingers intertwined. 

*

“Bullshit!” Jose hisses as Gabriel’s fingers tighten around his own, his curls brushing against Jack’s cheek as he sleeps. 

“Joseph, that’s not how you speak to your little brother,” His mother chastises, frowning at her eldest son. 

“Gabriel Reyes if not ducking gay, momma,” Jose hisses once more, looking to Clint and for confirmation, “And even if he was, he wouldn’t ever go for John!”

“Joseph, that’s enough,” His father demands calmly, successfully shutting his older brother up. “John?”

“Gabriel’s my boyfriend and I would appreciate it if you could all act normal around him. He’s... a little nervous as we haven’t officially announced our relationship yet.” Jack lies through his teeth, hoping, praying, that his parents wouldn’t see straight through him. 

Seeming to accept Jack’s words, the room falls back into easy chatter once more, his father giving him weird, soft smiles every now and then. By the time everyone shuffled off to bed, Jack had fallen asleep too, his arm firmly wound around Gabriel as he held him close while they slept. 

“John,” His father nudged his shoulder, “John, you have to wake up,” warm fingers run through his hair, no doubt messing it up. 

“Mmh,” Jack grunts his reply, not yet awake enough to react. 

“Take Gabriel to bed and let him sleep on a bed. We fixed the bedding for you, so it’s all ready,” His father rumbles, caressing Jack’s cheek like he always did to show affection. 

Blinking his eyes open, Jack looks up at his father’s smiling face. On his chest, Gabriel sleeps, his lips barely parted as he breathes, his mop of curly hair nestled into Jack’s throat. 

“I’m happy for you, son,” John smiles before ruffling Jack’s hair one last time and stepping away. 

Sighing, Jack closes his eyes for a second before gathering Gabriel up in his arms and lifting them both up from the loveseat they had been sleeping in. Grunting, Jack had almost forgotten just how heavy Gabriel really was. The man was sheer muscle mass beneath his soft curves. 

“You gonna be able to carry him upstairs?” His father asks, eyebrow raised, a valid question Jack thinks before Gabriel turns his face into Jack’s neck, soft lips and warm breath ghosting over his skin as Gabriel mumbles his name in his sleep. 

“Yeah, he’s not heavy,” Jack smiles as he passes his father’s chuckling form, “Night, dad,”

“Goodnight, son. It’s good to have you home again,” His father adds, smiling softly when Jack turns to stare at him midway up the stairs. 

Nodding, Jack turns them towards his childhood room, fumbling to get them inside. Luckily, his mother had pulled the sheets down, thinking ahead of any of them. Gently putting Gabriel down on the bed, Jack starts undressing Gabriel. Pulling his pants down reveals his thermals beneath. Leaving it on, Jack removes Gabriel’s shirt before folding the covers over the thermal clad sleeping beauty in his bed. 

Going into his bathroom, Jack brushes his teeth and washes his face before dressing down to his boxers. It’s not before he’s about to crawl into bed that he notices what his mother had done. Instead of two duvets, there’s one big one covering his queen-sized bed. An already tight fit would become even more awkward when they had to share the covers. 

Holding his breath, Jack steps into the bed and moves as far as he could towards the edge. Uncomfortable, Jack sighs as he pulls the covers over himself. Gabriel feels warm against his back, his heat radiating over to him from their close proximity. It isn’t long before Jack’s eyes close and sleep pulls him under once more. It’ll be fine...

*

Gabriel was not fine. Gabriel was anything but fine. Beneath his cheek was a warm, fuzzy chest belonging to one Jack Morrison. One very half-naked Jack Morrison that Gabriel had curled around like an octopus in his sleep. Jack’s arm was wound around him as Gabriel’s thigh was squeezed between Jack’s thighs, his very firm, very big erection poking Gabriel in the kidneys. Likewise, his own erection was pressed up into Jack’s thigh, the man in question sleeping soundly, small puffs of air gently blowing over Gabriel’s mushy curls.

He’s still dressed in his thermals, but he’s no longer in the loveseat he apparently had fallen asleep in. Jack must have carried him up sometime during the night, undressed him, and tucked him into bed before crawling in himself. Butterflies fluttered in his stomach at the thought. This was so much like one of the domestic dreams Gabriel had had so many times during the past years, to think this was as close as he would be coming was somewhat depressing. 

Deciding to close his eyes, Gabriel held onto the dream just a little longer. He must have fallen asleep again though, because the next time he comes to, Jack’s long fingers are carding through his hair. His arms are still firmly wrapped around Gabriel’s body, his thigh still trapped between Jack’s. Gabriel is warm and content when he rubs his face into Jack’s pecks. 

“Mmh morning, Gabe,” Jack rumbles, the sound incredible from Gabriel’s position on Jack’s chest. 

“Morning,” Gabriel mumbles, stretching his body before going limp again. “Small bed,”

“Yeah, sorry. It’s not really designed for two super soldiers. Is it alright though? I can find something to put on the floor,” Jack offers, and isn’t that just the sweetest thing ever. 

“Nah, I’m fine if you’re alright with it,” Gabriel replies, secretly hoping that Jack will decide to sleep in this bed too. 

“Shower’s yours, but don’t take too long, we’re a lot of people needing hot water,” Jack says before stretching beneath Gabriel, releasing his hold on his thigh while he was at it. 

“Wouldn’t it be smarter if we showered together then?” Gabriel says before he knows it, the heartbeat beneath his ear stuttering lightly before beating way faster than it did. 

“Would that be alright with you? I’m kinda... I uh... It’s morning,” Jack offers in a way of saying that he’s stuck with a boner. 

“I’m good if you’re good. Not exactly anything we haven’t already seen,” Gabriel shrugs, hoping that he sounds much calmer than he feels. 

“Touchè...” Jack chuckles before releasing Gabriel and rolling out of bed. 

Bending at the waist, Jack pulls his boxers off, serving Gabriel the sight of his peachy white ass before disappearing into the bathroom. Gabriel lays in the bed until he hears the shower start, undressing on his way there and closing the door behind him. 

“Move aside, asshole,” Gabriel pushes past Jack to get to the hot water, moaning with pleasure as the warmth beats down at him. 

There’s a sound from the bedroom, but Jack doesn’t react, so Gabriel doesn’t bother with it either. Showering with Jack isn’t half as awkward as Gabriel thought it would be though, but when they both stumble out of the bathroom, steam, and laughter following them, it’s only to be met with their discarded clothes gone and a set of fluffy one-pieces on Jack’s made bed. 

“What the... fuck...” Gabriel stumbles where he’s frozen to the spot of the white undies on both of the one-pieces.

Seemingly too embarrassed to say anything, Jack just moves to the bed to get dressed, busying himself while he waits for Gabriel to do the same. They look absolutely ridiculous as they walk down the stairs, Jack taking Gabriel’s hand and intertwining their fingers before entering the kitchen. All the heads turn to greet them good morning when they enter, the generously big room filled to its max with everyone inside. 

“Gabriel, sweetheart, we are unfortunately a chair too little. John never told us he was actually bringing you home this year,” Joycelyn explained somewhat embarrassed. 

“It’s fine, mom, he’ll just sit in my lap,” Jack replies, steering Gabriel with a hand on his hip. 

“Did you sleep well, Gabriel?” John asked, taking a drink of his coffee as he looked over at him over the steaming brim. 

“Yes, Sir, I slept very well thank you,” Gabriel replies politely as he gets comfortable on Jack’s lap. It’s not working though. 

“Jackie, you’ll have to sit in my lap,” Gabriel thinks he whispers, but immediately, the kitchen erupts in chuckles of ‘Jackie?’ and ’How sweet’. 

“Why?” Jack hums around a piece of bacon he’s snatched from the table. 

“Because your bony ass thighs are slicing me in two, boy scout,” Gabriel growls, watching as Jack’s eyes grow big. 

“Ah, shit. Sorry, Gabe. Why haven’t you said so before?” And wasn’t that just funny? The amount of times there’s ever been a ‘before’ Gabriel has usually been half dead, bloodied, and out of his mind. How was he to know?

“John Francis, don’t swear,” Joycelyn chastises, frowning at Jack. 

The table, of course, erupts in snickers. Gabriel snorts too. It’s refreshing to be somewhere they can both be just them. There’s no Strike Commander of Overwatch or Blackwatch Commander in this room, there’s just Jack and Gabriel, the persons behind the titles. As Jack’s family buzzes around him, Gabriel is content with holding onto Jack where he sits above him chatting animatedly with his family, smiling and laughing happily. Gabriel listens to Jack’s voice, rests his head on Jack’s back, and just listens. 

“I want Gabriel on my team,” Joseph bursts out suddenly between a bite of bacon. 

For a second he looks so much like Jack. They share the same blue eyes, the same straight nose, and diamond-cut square jaw. Jack’s hair is a shade brighter than Joseph’s, but the man is no less handsome than his younger brother, but with the excitement burning in his eyes, the two look so much alike it’s almost scary. 

“No,” Jack frowns, crossing his arms over his ample chest. 

“Now, John,” Jack’s father rumbles, making both brothers quiet down. “I think I will have Gabriel on my own team,” 

“Wha- Dad,” Joseph whines, shortly before Jack grumbles how that’s not fair. 

“I’m the oldest, I get to pick first,” John reasons, and to Gabriel, it sounds reasonable enough. It was a reasoning he had used many a time himself. “What do you think, Gabriel?”

“Sounds reasonable, Sir,” Gabriel nods, rolling his eyes when Jack starts protesting. 

“Betrayed by my own love,” Jack flails dramatically as he gets off of Gabriel’s lap. 

“So, what exactly did I say yes to?” Gabriel tries to ask Jack, but the ray of sunshine just grins and shakes his head as he opens the door to step outside. 

“You made your own bed, babe, you have to lay in it,” Jack sing-songs, grinning like a maniac as he moves down the hallway to get dressed in a thick jacket. 

Gabriel was fucked, he was royally and utterly fucked. 

“You’ll do just fine, son,” John tried to comfort as he passed Gabriel on his way to get dressed. 

It didn’t work. It didn’t work while Gabriel was getting dressed, his thermal gear washed and folded, and ready to be used again. Gabriel doesn’t feel any comfort as the first snowball flies or rather when the first snowball hits him square in the face and a burst of laughter he knows all too well sounds across the snow-filled garden before Jack crawls over to help him up again. 

The grin on Jack’s face is drop-dead gorgeous. His nose and cheeks are pink from the cold, making his oh-so-blue eyes pop. Gabriel is mesmerized by Jack’s beauty, enough so that when cold lips meet his in a smiling kiss before he’s hoised up to his feet again, Gabriel is left staring after Jack where he jumps and throws more snow at his family, seemingly unfazed by what just happened. 

“First kiss, hmm?” John asks as he offers a cup of something warm, raspberries.  
“Y-yeah...” Gabriel says, not really registering what is happening. 

“Gonna tell him you love him then?” The older man pushes gently, smiling.

“Yeah,” Gabriel replies automatically because he does love Jack, has loved him for a very, very long time. 

“Good. Boy’s been head over heels for you for years now,”

“Yeah, me too,” Gabriel answers, taking a big sip of the raspberry beverage and burning his tongue. “Wait - ah shit...” Gabriel finally catches on to what has been going on between them. 

“What, thought I didn’t know?” John laughs, “That’s my baby son over there. He might be the words mightiest leader, but he’s still my baby boy. I would know it if he confessed his feelings for his best friend.”

“I’m sorry, Sir. We didn’t mean to - I kind of gave away that he had some time off to your wife and Jack was hoping to spend it alone this year as he’s had to work for the past few. He roped me into playing the boyfriend to avoid the ‘boyfriend’ questions,” Gabriel comes clean, laying all the cards on the table.

“I take it he doesn’t remember getting drunk and vowing to make you his husband some years back then?” John hums thoughtfully, although, by the way he raises an eyebrow at Gabriel, he gets the feeling that information was deliberate. 

“Ready to get some heat into your bones again, Gabe?” Jack chirps as he jogs over to them all smiles and happiness. 

“Yeah, sunshine, I’m more than ready,” Gabriel smiles, taking Jack’s hand when he offers it. 

*

Jack can’t remember the last time was this happy. He’s fairly certain that he’s never actually been this kind of happy before. With Gabriel in his arms, he could easily imagine that this was real and not just a play for the galleries. Carding his fingers through Gabriel’s curls, they just lay there in their little loveseat, listening to the fire and the sound of the family chatting and laughing. 

Turning in Jack’s arms, Gabriel looks up at him, a gentle smile on his lips. Beautiful with red cheeks, Jack couldn’t help but bump his forehead to Gabriel’s, delighted when Gabriel just smiled, eyes sparkling as he looked up at him. If Jack’s life depended on it, he was certain that he couldn’t have stopped leaning forward, couldn’t have stopped it when his eyes fell closed, and finally, his lips met those of Gabriel’s in a slow kiss. 

Holding onto the man in his arms, Jack let his feelings for Gabriel steer him. Deepening the kiss, Jack had to smile when Gabriel shuddered in his arms, a soft moan escaping his lips only to be swallowed by Jack. Slowly breaking the kiss, Jack opened his eyes to see Gabriel’s eyes flutter open as a slow smile crossed his lips. 

“Took you long enough, sunshine,” Gabriel whispered before taking Jack’s lips in another bone-melting kiss. 

It took Jack a few minutes to figure out what had just happened, but when he did, not even Gabriel kissing him back could stop him from smiling. Maybe this wouldn’t be as bad after all, maybe, just maybe, Gabriel had been the key all along, the missing piece. He doesn’t know how it happened or how they got to be where they were right now, but as he took Gabriel’s lips in another kiss, Jack couldn’t much care one way or the other. They would have the rest of the week to figure out how they would do this, but when Gabriel smiled up at him, Jack knew that it would all be alright. 

Too wrapped up in each other, neither one of them noticed Jack’s parents share a small high five before cuddling up to watch their family grow. 

~ The End.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading and Happy New Year!


End file.
